Seth Meyers Announces First Guest for Late Night; Plans to Borrow From "Weekend Update"

Seth Meyersis still working out the kinks for when he takes overLate Night, but one thing he has for certain is his first guest.Meyers, who takes the stage onFeb. 24 at 12:35 a.m./11:35c, told reporters at theTelevision Critics Association winter ...

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By TV Guide

The Telegram

By TV Guide

Posted Jan. 19, 2014 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jan 19, 2014 at 9:21 PM

By TV Guide

Posted Jan. 19, 2014 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jan 19, 2014 at 9:21 PM

Seth Meyers is still working out the kinks for when he takes over Late Night, but one thing he has for certain is his first guest.

Meyers, who takes the stage on Feb. 24 at 12:35 a.m./11:35c, told reporters at the Television Critics Association winter previews on Sundaythe first person to sit on his couch will be Amy Poehler. "She's basically Bono's common-law wife now," he joked, referring to her epic Golden Globes makeout with the singer.

Here are some more things to expect when Late Night with Seth Meyers premieres!

Segments reminiscent of "Weekend Update"Meyers, who has been a head writer on Saturday Night Livefor eightyears,says he's drawn to the idea of making jokes about current events and has brought his "Weekend Update" head writer Alex Baze with him to the new show. "The trickiest thing about 'Weekend Update' is that often we write jokes Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and by Saturdaythey feel stale or someone else tells a version of it," Meyer says. "So we're excited to get out there and do jokes about the news, topical jokes, and we want to have a really strong monologue."

Fake characters! (But no Stefon or Drunk Uncle)Meyers says he'd love to continue the tradition of incorporating characters into segments and has hired writers who are also performers for that purpose. "We made an effort to get a lot of people who can over the course of the show can get familiar to the audience," Meyers says. "I like being in a two-shot with someone who is funnier than me." In order not to confuse the audience, though, Meyers adds, "We plan to have a separate area so when you see them there you know it's not supposed to be a real person. "

Music is still a question markMeyers admits music is not his strong suit and that he and executive producer Mike Shoemaker are still figuring that aspect of the show out. "I am not the same kind of music aficionado as Jimmy [Fallon]," Meyers says. "I respect that this real estate has long been used to break out bands so certainly in hiring our music booker we were looking for someone who knows music more than I do."

He's open to guests of all facetsMeyers doesn't just want A-list actors, but lots of different types of guests. "As far as guests go, we want it not to be just creative people in show business, but we'd also love to have authors, politicians, athletes," Meyers says. "We're open to everything and we're hoping to get interesting people that not only the audience knows, but the audience gets to know."